Interpreters are your
allies in conveying your message to the audience. You can help
them by following these simple guidelines:

If you have a written
text or notes for your speech, please hand them to the
conference secretariat for distribution to the interpreters.
Interpreters do not simply rely on words, they interpret the
meaning and should therefore familiarize themselves with your
subject and terminology. AIIC interpreters are bound by
professional secrecy, and the content of your document will
remain confidential at all times and will be returned to you
on request.

If your paper is technical,
please give the interpreters any terminology you may have or
any background papers on the same subject in other languages.
You may also ask the conference secretariat to organize a
briefing with the interpreters. Meeting the speakers would be
useful in order to clarify specific points which will help
improve performance.

If you wish to
show a film, slides or transparencies, please make sure
that the interpreters receive the script or a copy of the
transparencies. The booths are often situated far away from
the screen and it would be helpful if the interpreters had
copies of the projected text in front of them.

When reading from
a script one tends to speed up which means that the audience
will find it difficult to follow and, as a result, parts of
your message will be lost. If you have not spoken at meetings
with interpretation before, it may be advisable to pace
your delivery beforehand. Ideally you should allow 3
minutes per page of 40 lines.

Before you speak,
please make sure your microphone is switched on.
Knocking the microphone or blowing into it as a test will
merely be amplified in the interpreters' headphones and cause
an unpleasant noise. To test the microphone just say a few
words like "Good afternoon" or "Thank you Mr.
Chairman".

Please do not
speak too close to the microphone as this creates interference
and avoid leaving your receiver set close to the microphone
when you speak to prevent feed-back whistling. The technician
will be able to advise you on this.

If you need to move
away from your seat, i.e. to point at a slide or
transparency projection, please use a neck or lapel
microphone. Without a microphone the interpreters cannot
hear you, however loud you speak.

If you are
speaking from the rostrum or a lectern and want to reply to
questions from the floor, please make sure you have a receiver
set with you to follow the questions as they are
interpreted.